Other Election Information

2006 Gubernatorial Election - Election Related Statistics

General Information

Beginning with the 2006 General Election, SBE has instituted uniform definitions of certain election related terms. The definitions for these terms are listed below and are effective for the 2006 General Election and all future elections.

Voter turnout (also called voter participation) represents all individuals who voted or attempted to vote in an election. This includes voters who voted on voting units in the polling places and voters who cast an absentee or provisional ballot, regardless of whether the absentee or provisional ballot was counted by the local board of canvassers.

Ballots accepted (also called ballots counted) represents those ballots that were counted by the local board of canvassers. This number includes all ballots cast in the polling place on the voting unit and those absentee and provisional ballots that were accepted by the local board of canvasses. These numbers do not include those absentee and provisional ballots that were rejected by the local board of canvassers.

When comparing the 2006 General Election to prior elections, please note that these terms may have been defined differently. While the 2006 Election reports were compiled from the state's new statewide voter registration system, prior reports were collected and provided by the local boards of elections. For example, voter turnout has historically only included absentee and provisional ballots that were accepted by the local board of canvassers. As explained above, voter turnout for the 2006 General Election includes all voters who cast an absentee or provisional ballot. The number of accepted absentee and provisional ballots is available on different reports.

2006 General Election Statistics

Additional General Election Related Reports

Under the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is required to submit to Congress reports on various election activities, including voter registration, provisional voting, and voting by military and overseas citizens. To complete its reports, the EAC requires each State to provide certain election related data.

For its 2006 survey, the EAC combined two previously separate reports - a voter registration survey and an election results survey - into one, fifty-eight question survey. In response to the data related questions about the November 12, 2006, General Election, the State submitted this Excel spreadsheet. Please note that there are 15 worksheets in the spreadsheet. Responses to non-data questions (i.e., how many jurisdictions are in Maryland, identify the structure of local election officials, etc.) are not included in the spreadsheet; they were submitted using the EAC's on-line survey.